


Who Leads the Wild Hunt

by pherryt



Category: Supernatural, Wayward Sisters - Fandom
Genre: Being Hunted, Case Fic, F/F, Promises, Running, Sort Of, Tentacles, The Fae, hounds, its always a witches fault, some minor season 13 spoilers, the wild hunt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-24 18:18:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14959698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pherryt/pseuds/pherryt
Summary: Claire's gone missing while on a case and Kaia is determined to find her. She just never expected to fall afoul of the same dangers Claire must have faced - and Kaiastillhad no idea where she was!





	Who Leads the Wild Hunt

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt: "luchador wrestlers, eldritch beings, and fae OH MY!"
> 
> Fae? *perks up* that sounds so right up my alley!
> 
> And here we are. I hope you enjoy it
> 
> Thank you to the lovely Zummar for looking at this and to Formidablepassion for the prompt. (Happy Birthday dear!)

Kaia panted hard and crouched behind a boulder.

Surely this was a nightmare! Had she fallen asleep? She took great care not to and yet…

Yet… the howling dogs growing ever closer, the black cloaked riders blowing their horns and raising eerie cries gave rise to the idea that she must have.

Except it wasn’t like the Bad Place. She was well used to the dangers there, the things that stalked and hunted her in the dreams that were no dream, and these were not them.

She shivered and her arms came around to wrap about herself.

No, it was what Bobby had explained to her earlier that day. The walls between this realm and the nearest had weakened here, for some strange reason, and the land of the Fae were intruding once more upon the unsuspecting and unprepared folks of the sleepy, middle of nowhere town as they had in days of old.

She hadn’t fallen asleep at all. She hadn’t even Dreamwalked in over a week thanks to Bobby’s help, but none of that helped her now.

Kaia tried to figure out how she’d gotten herself _ in  _ this mess in the first place. Only three days ago, she was still at Jody’s house, recuperating from her latest ordeal. When she’d turned up in Jody’s yard, ragged but alive, the look on Claire’s face had been heartbreaking. Shocked, full of relief, her eyes filled with tears even as she’d darted forward to catch Kaia, who was already slumping over.

Claire had spent the next few weeks nursing Kaia back to health. Kaia was better now, but there was still the problem of her Dreamwalking. She’d never heard of any other Dreamwalker who couldn’t control their power if they were lucky enough to find someone to train them. She’d never heard of any other  Dreamwalker who couldn’t keep the other worlds at bay.

Or who were stuck on just one, like a broken record.

Then Bobby Singer – someone Jody had once known, apparently, someone who had caused her to pale when he’d shown up on her doorstep in almost the same way Claire had when Kaia had returned -  had come out to help her figure out something they could do.

Kaia couldn’t spend the rest of her life afraid to sleep.

While they researched and tried one new thing after another, Claire left on hunts – but only so long as they were local – and came back. She was never gone long and checked in with Kaia every night. It had taken a lot of pushing on Kaia’s part to even get Claire to leave the house, to leave  _ her. _

But Claire did good out in the world, and Kaia didn’t want to get in the way of that, even if it left her lonely.

Even without Claire, though, Kaia was starting to settle in at Jody’s house. It was different and it soothed an aching spot inside her she had forgotten even existed. Kaia had been born an orphan. Or at least, an orphan was all she could ever remember being. Whoever her people were, whatever they had been, was lost to her.

But here, among Claire and Alex, Jody and Patience - and even Donna, those rare occasions when she stopped by - Kaia had started to form a home and a family. Things she’d never truly had before. She’d never been able to let herself get close to people before. Couldn’t confide in them. As a child, when she’d done so, it had only landed her in trouble. Labeled her as crazy or attention seeking.

Sometimes she’d wondered if they were right.

And yet… now she was surrounded by people who not only believed her but also cared for her. It was so alien to her that she couldn’t quite comprehend it, the idea of it bringing her to tears on more than one occasion.

She was starting to feel like she  _ belonged  _ somewhere, for once.

Even Mr. Singer – “Call me Bobby already, will ya?” – was making a home in her heart. When they weren’t researching Dreamwalking, alternate dimensions, or the veil, Kaia and Bobby could often be found settled in on the couch watching daytime soap operas or even Luchador wrestlers. It was a sport that Bobby knew nothing about - but Kaia had long since grown familiar with via her tendency to stay up as long as she could, holed up wherever she felt safe – but was enthusiastic enough to learn.

Then three days ago, everything had changed.

Claire had gone a couple towns over for a case. Nothing unusual about that. It was supposed to be open and shut. Some missing people – some of whom turned up a day later, dazed and traumatized while only the bodies of the rest were found – and the animals, particularly dogs, acting especially crazy.

With a certain experience under her belt, Claire had figured it for a werewolf and Kaia had reluctantly – though she would never let on – watched her go. 

Claire never checked in that night.

Nor the night after.

By the dawn of the third day, Kaia was beside herself. She’d nearly thrown herself out the door in her desperation to find Claire – she didn’t care how she got there. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d stolen a car – but Jody and Bobby had stopped her. Exchanging looks they thought she hadn’t seen, Bobby had   
volunteered to help her search for Claire.

Babysit  _ her  _ more likely, Kaia had realized. But here she was now, and no Bobby in sight and they still hadn’t found  _ Claire _ . The idea that whatever Claire had been hunting had gotten her instead had Kaia all tied up in knots.

Now, as the howling of a dog – or maybe something bigger – dragged her back into the present, she knew without a doubt that she’d stumbled right into whatever Claire had been hunting.

Only now  _ she  _ was the target.

If Bobby was right about who was out there in the woods with her, then if she could just evade them for the night, the Wild Hunt would dissipate, returning to wherever their fairy realm existed. Dawn was only an hour off and if there was one thing Kaia was good at, it was running.

Claire  _ never _ ran. She stood her ground, and that fact alone meant that she was probably dead.

Otherwise, Kaia would never have had to come looking for her in the first place.

The sound of a horn close by startled Kaia into darting away from the boulder. She knew she couldn’t outrun the Hunt while on their mounts, but if the riders were that close, the hounds would be able to sniff her out of any cover.

She only needed to last another hour.

She only needed to make it to dawn.

If she could do that, the chance that she could ask a boon from the Fae was high. The lore Bobby had discovered said they respected strength and rewarded clever mortals.

Of course, she’d have to be careful.

The Fae also loved their trickery. She would have to watch her words carefully.

She ran through the darkness, aiming for the denser forest and ducking low hanging tree limbs. It wouldn’t slow the hounds, but it would slow the riders. They were otherworldly so it wouldn’t deter them completely, but it  _ might  _ slow them down just enough.

That didn’t mean she could risk slowing, no matter how painful the stitch in her side was, or how her ankle throbbed from the nasty fall she’d taken earlier.

The downside of going deeper into the woods was that she wasn’t able to see how close dawn was. All she could do was run and hold back the tears of her desperation. She could hope the hunt had merely captured Claire and that maybe – like a few of the others – she had been given the choice to run with them rather than be killed.

It was a slim chance but it was all Kaia had left to cling to, and she was damn well going to cling to it.

As deep as she was going into the woods, Kaia didn’t notice when the light changed and got darker than it should. It only made sense that it would, but as she stopped to rest a hand on a trunk for a quick breath –  _ not too long, the hunt is still behind me! –  _ she  _ did  _ notice that the only sound was her own harsh breaths and the distant clip-clops of hooves, the baying howls of the Hunt and an occasional horn.

She’d succeeded in one thing, at least. They’d fallen behind.

But wait…

That wasn’t right.

There was no way she could possibly outrun them. Hadn’t she just been planning for that? It should be impossible to have lost them and the Wild Hunt – once prey had been scented – never gave up, only dawn saving their victims.

So  _ why  _ had they fallen behind?

Kaia straightened and her eyes darted around fearfully, finally taking in the smaller details she hadn’t had time to see while running. The woods here were old. Older than anything in this county had a right to be. And there was a strange wetness in the air, odd and heavy, while a greenish haze rolled over the ground. That wasn’t grass or moss… it was more like… like  _ mist. _

And that was unusual too. Bobby had explained that the lore on fairies said fog was often linked to the barrier between the two worlds. It looked and felt like natural fog, only thicker, and sometimes existed where it should never have a business being, but a fog all the same. And whoever wandered in might never wander back out, doomed to travel lost in another world.

This… this wasn’t fog. It was the wrong color for that and… it moved in ways fog just didn’t move. This mist covered the ground and rolled and curled and…

Something brushed against Kaia’s ankle and she screamed, jerking back, thudding hard against the trunk of the tree she’d been leaning against. Looking down, she found a ropy tendril twining around her leg, barely visible through the green tinted mist.

Rustling sounded around her, suddenly, and she jerked her foot away from the tendril and slid around the trunk of the tree, only to find more of them growing towards her from the branches above. With a pounding heart, Kaia realized why the Hunt hadn’t followed her further in.

She fought the vines that sought to entrap her and took off running once more – this time away from the vines that seemed to have a mind of their own, and towards the Hunt. It was still dangerous, but she had to hope enough time had passed that she’d be safe.

The edge of the strange woods was easy to see – the mist stopped like it had hit a wall and on the outside of it stood the black cloaked riders, the breath of their mounts curling up into the air as the hounds paced back and forth, giving up small yips.

The yips became excited howls as she came once more into their view and she faltered.

Trapped between dangers Kaia now didn’t know what to do. Surely it had to be past sunrise now? Why were the Hunt  _ waiting  _ for her?

She slowed but didn’t stop as she thought desperately for a way out of this situation. Could she feint her way past them? Steal a horse or… well, that one had antlers, so whatever it was? But no, she’d never ridden before in her life.

Her world tilted and she hit the ground. The vines that had tried to ensnare her had finally succeeded. She’d slowed too much. Fearfully, she scrabbled at the hard ground as the tendrils yanked her back. Shouting incoherently and sobbing, she still fought, kicking and twisting to try and loosen their grip.

And then the leader of the Wild Hunt dismounted and stepped into the mist.

There was a drawn gasp from the Hunt and everything, even the hounds, went still, watching as the leader drew a large hunting knife from its boot and raced forward with a yell, hacking at the vines and hauling Kaia to her feet.

“Go!” the leader growled at her gruffly, pushing her out towards the waiting Hunt.

Kaia didn’t waste any more time. She made it to the edge and stepped over the strange border with relief, only to find herself now surrounded by the dark cloaked figures. Most of the figures towered over her – even the ones on their own two feet – and their eyes all seemed to glow, a mixture of colors, shining clearly against the blackness. Blue, white, green, yellow… it was a rainbow in the dark.

They crowded closer and she stood defensively, her hands balled into fists.

Running was no longer an option. She would  _ have _ to stand and fight.

The crowd parted to allow the leader in once more and it strode towards her purposefully. It was strangely shorter than the rest of them, Kaia noted distractedly, and its gait was actually… familiar…

She blinked at the odd thought, watching the leader of the Wild Hunt approach.

Cornered, Kaia stood defiantly, picturing Claire in her mind. Picturing that intense bravery she had, despite her own fears and insecurities. Drawing on the memories of Claire’s strength, using her as an example, Kaia trembled but stood resolute.

The Hunt leader stopped before Kaia, his pale - rather delicate looking fingers, a strangely detached part of her noted - reaching up to his hood slowly, drawing it back.

Blonde hair tumbled down around the familiar face and Kaia gaped.

“Claire?”

“I told you I’d protect you.” Claire grinned saucily.

“But…  _ how _ ?”

“I’m a hunter. Who else do you think leads the Wild Hunt?”

As Kaia continued to gape, Claire turned to face one particular figure that had stepped out of the crowd, something silver glinting along its side. She gulped as Claire strode forward, unafraid.

“This night’s hunt is over and the spell broken, our adversary tonight has proven worthy. Take your due, return to your realm and visit this one no longer,” Claire intoned, the words holding something of a ritual.

The cloaked figure before Claire inclined its head and, as one, the Hunt turned and rode off, blending into the night and leaving the two women alone.

Kaia continued to gape at Claire.

“I don’t understand…   _ how? _ ” she blurted out finally.

Claire gave her a grin and placed Kaia’s arm over her shoulders. Kaia sighed in relief as weight was taken off her still throbbing ankle, made all the worse from the tree tentacles that had attacked her.

“I challenged some silver armed guy for leadership. To be fair, I think he was more than willing to let me have it, as long as I proved worthy of it,” Claire explained as they walked, their steps slow.

Kaia was impressed but she shouldn’t be surprised. Claire was capable of just about  _ anything  _ she set her mind to, she’d been discovering. “But what did you mean by his due?”

They broke through the tree cover as they talked and Kaia blinked stupidly at the brilliantly colored dawn sky hanging over the motel she and Bobby were staying at. She’d never realized her route had taken her back so close to the road. She was losing her touch if she let herself get turned around so much.

“Some witch had bound the Hunt to do his bidding. Now, with the spell broken, they will find him and take him back to their realm as punishment.” Claire shrugged again, careful not to jostle Kaia. “Which, frankly, I couldn’t care less about. That witch caused some damage to this place, caused a lot of deaths. Whatever they do to him, he deserved it.”

Kaia gaped at Claire once more. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

Claire flashed her an impish grin, pausing as they reached the motel room door. Kaia didn’t even bother to ask Claire how she knew which room hers was. As part of the Wild Hunt, Claire had probably tracked her right from her room.

And she’d never even known they were there. It was a damn scary thought and made her all the more glad   _ she  _ wasn’t a hunter, and that it had been Claire at the head of the Hunt.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve got nothing to worry about, Kaia,” Claire said, reaching out to unlock the door.

Reaching out for Claire’s face, Kaia turned her gently so their eyes met. She smiled wetly at Claire, unable to hold back the tears gathering there. “I’m just glad you’re safe,” Kaia whispered brokenly. “I was so scared for you.”

“Don’t be,” Claire said softy, her own hand coming up to cover Kaia’s. “I will always come back to you.”

“Promise?” Kaia asked.

“Absolutely.” Claire said firmly.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So first off... this was written for a tight turnaround. most of my Fae knowledge comes from a variety of fantasy books: Tom Dietz, Prydain Chronicles, Mercedes Lackeys SERRAted Edge, JIm Butchers Dresden Files, etc. 
> 
> And even then, the lore doesn't match each other - because you have modern authors putting their own twist on the lore. and even as i tried to look up certain things, keeping that in mind, i realized that before modern authors got a hold of such lore, there were already a ton of variations of the same legends varying from country to country and century century. as did their level of benevolence or malicious evil.
> 
> the Wild Hunt, for instance, has had many leaders over many stories, including Nuada SilverArm and King Arthur and more. How it operates also changes.
> 
> So, yeah, at that point i just said screw it, and i played with it. I hope you liked it.


End file.
